Bush Takes Aim at His Democratic Challengers

Moving to seize the political offensive, President Bush on Monday delivered a direct attack on the Democrats trying to unseat him, saying they had offered no policies that would win the war on terrorism or expand the economy.

“So far all we hear is a lot of old bitterness and partisan anger,” Bush said. “Anger is not an agenda for the future of America.”

In one of the most partisan speeches of his presidency, Bush burnished the two pillars of his reelection bid so far: that he is a decisive “wartime president” who will not relent in the war against terrorism, and that he remains deeply engaged in the task of creating new jobs. But for the first time, Bush also criticized what he said were the failings of the Democrats competing for the nomination to challenge him in the November election.

Voters, Bush said, would have “a very clear choice” between his vision of “an America that leads the world with strength and confidence or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger.”

Contrasting his tax cuts with proposals from the Democratic candidates, Bush warned: “Listen closely, because there’s a theme. Every promise will increase the power of politicians and bureaucrats over your income, over your retirement, over your healthcare and over your life. It’s the same old Washington mind-set: They’ll give the orders, and you’ll pay the bills.”

The address, to a receptive audience of Republican governors and donors at a Washington convention center, marked a decision by Bush and his reelection team to move onto an aggressive campaign footing even before Democrats had chosen their nominee.

Next week, the Bush campaign will air its first television advertisements, another signal that Bush is willing to show himself as a partisan candidate as well as a president.

The president has been buffeted in recent weeks by a series of policy problems and White House missteps that have pushed his job approval rating to the lowest point of his presidency. In a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press this month, Bush’s overall favorability rating tumbled to 48% from 72% last April, shortly after the fall of Baghdad. Other polls have reflected similar declines.

Bush’s problems have included new questions about the administration’s prewar claim that then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, an assertion that has not been validated.

Bush’s major domestic achievements have also come under fire, with fiscal conservatives complaining about a newly increased price tag for the Medicare prescription drug benefit, and lawmakers in some states complaining about the No Child Left Behind Act, which they say puts new demands on schools without offering adequate funds.

Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president, said the fact that Bush had started his campaign even before his opponent is known showed that the president was “on the run.” Kerry made the comment in New York, before Bush’s address.

In a written statement, Kerry added that “the president is right: We do have a different vision for America than he does. We believe in an America that’s creating jobs, not losing them. We believe in an America where Americans can afford healthcare, not lose it in record numbers.... We believe in an America that’s stronger, not weaker.”

Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Kerry’s principal challenger for the Democratic nomination, said, “Unless the president’s found a way in the last 24 hours to create millions of jobs, unless he’s found a way to solve the healthcare crisis in this country ... I can’t imagine he has all that much to say tonight.” Edwards spoke in Albany, Ga., also before Bush’s address.

Independent political analysts said they were not surprised that Bush had decided to intensify his campaign and his political rhetoric.

In addition to controversies about his claims on Iraq and his Medicare and education legislation, Bush recently drew fire when his chief economic advisor appeared to endorse the movement of U.S. jobs overseas. In addition, the president’s proposal to go to Mars, intended to energize the public, received a tepid response. So did his State of the Union address.

“He’s taken on a lot of water and needs to start bailing out,” said independent political analyst Charlie Cook. “Democrats have just thoroughly dominated the news for the last month or so, and now it’s time for the president to get into the game. He can’t let them continue to dominate the news.”

“The current winter has been one long banana peel for the president. He has to reassure Republicans that he’s going to find his footing real soon,” said Jack Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in Pomona.

Yet in kicking the debate into higher gear, Bush faces a tough balancing act, Pitney said.

“The biggest asset a president has is being presidential. So there’s a risk when he becomes partisan,” he said. “But if [he] doesn’t become partisan, the other side dominates the debate. It’s a delicate act. He has to win the fray and stay above the fray.”

Bush mentioned no Democrat by name during his 40-minute speech. But at one point he made a swipe at Kerry, drawing laughter from the crowd.

The president set up his quip by saying that the Democratic field makes “an interesting group,” because it both supports and opposes his tax cuts, supports and opposes NAFTA, supports and opposes the Patriot Act and backed and opposed the Iraq war.

Then he added: “And that’s just one senator from Massachusetts.”

Bush made a second derisive comment as he defended his decision to go to war against Iraq. Noting that some criticized the move to oust Hussein, the president added: “Maybe they were hoping he’d lose the next Iraqi election.”

Bush also pledged to wage the war against terrorism to its conclusion. “If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch,” he said.

“Our opponents have not offered much in the way of strategies to win the war, or policies to expand our economy,” the president said.

Bush also gave Vice President Dick Cheney a solid endorsement to quell speculation in Washington that Cheney was becoming regarded as a liability to the GOP ticket.

“They don’t come any better. And I’m proud to have Dick Cheney by my side,” Bush said.

In addition to excoriating the Democrats as being weak on defense and eager to embrace taxation and spending, Bush began to lay out a vision of what his second term would look like.

“In the next four years, we will keep our enemies on the run and extend the frontiers of liberty,” the president told a crowd of several hundred party faithful. “In the next four years, we will help more Americans to find their opportunities in this changing economy.”

Alaska Gov. Frank H. Murkowski, a Republican, said Bush effectively launched his reelection bid Monday night.

“I think he sent a strong, strong message -- that his campaign started tonight,” Murkowski said after the speech. “Sen. Kerry’s come off a few good weeks, and people were asking, ‘What’s the president going to do?’ I think he showed them tonight.”

Kerry, speaking in New York City earlier in the day, challenged Bush’s claims that Democrats wanted to raise taxes. “The only plan I have is to roll back George Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans,” the Democratic candidate said.

“Now if George Bush wants to defend people earning more than $200,000 a year instead of providing healthcare for all Americans and investing in education ... that’s his choice,” Kerry said.

Bush gave his address at a Washington fundraiser for the Republican Governors Assn. The event raised $7.3 million, which the group will use to help GOP candidates in the 12 gubernatorial contests this November.

Before addressing the Republican governors and donors Monday night, Bush made remarks at the White House to all the governors, who are in town for their annual meeting.

Times staff writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.